Invalid wheel chair



Oct. '18, 1949.

J. G. RIDEQUT INVALID WHEEL CHAIR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb, 14. 1947 ATTORNEYS Oct. 18, 1949. J. G. RIDEOUT INVALID WHEEL CHAIR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb, 14. 1947 JNVENTOR. John G. r'f/aeaw Whi /MAM A TTORNE Y;

Patented Oct. 1 8, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INVALH') WHEEL Johm Gordon- Rideout, Chagrin Falls, Ohio, assignor to Gendron Wheel Company, Perrysburg, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application February 14, 1947, Serial No. 728,649

v 10 Claims. 1;

This invention relates to invalid; wheel chairs but particularly toa collapsible wheel chair which may be collapsed or folded into a compact condition for storage or transportation. purposes,

It is a desideratum to produce arelatively inexpensive invalid wheel chair which can-be manufactured to sell in a moderate price range, so as to be available to a greater number of persons requiring one. Wheelchairs of this type which are presently in use are not altogether satistactory, principally because they do not affordthe utmost in comfort to the occupant.- Among. the objectionsto such chairs is the fact that the arm rests are too high with relation to the seat so that the occupant is not able to rest his arms thereon ina natural manner. Unfortunately, the design of such chairs makes necessary a higher arm rest so that an attempt to lower the arm rest militates againstv the desired collapsing or folding of the chair.

Another cardinal objection resides inthe fact that the seat in these chairs is, inv the main, too narrow and this also is due to inherent design features.

An object is to overcome the above difliculties and to produce a new and improved invalid chair which is provided with a wider seatr lower arm rests, and can be inexpensively manufactured and assembled.

Another object is to produce an invalid wheel chair which is uniquely braced to afford the" desired features of rigidity but which can be folded into a compact form in a simple manner and which affords greater comfort to tli occupant.

Other objects consist in details of construction and arrangement of parts, and for purposes of illustration but not of limitation, an embodiment of the invention is shown on the accompanying drawings, inwhich Figure I isa front end elevation of the invalid wheel chair unfolded to position of use;

Figure 1A is an enlarged fl'agmen'tary view showing the connection between one of the cross braces and a seat rail;

Figure 2 is a front end perspective View of the Wheel chair in collapsed position; and

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view partly in: section of the rod and sleeve mounting for" the seat frame.

The illustrated embodiment of theinvention comprises a collapsible wheel chair for invalid-s and consists of: a pair of laterallyspaced frame members A and B. Each oi thetf-rame members A- and B hasa metal tubular upright l which, at it upper end, terminates ina rearwardly extending horizontally disposed arm rest portion H a l; the lower end terminates in aforward-1y bent portion or extension t2 A foot rest L3 is hingedly connected to the left-hand extension l-Z'by ah-inge' l t, the foot rest 13 having, arr arched plate element it for engaging the right-hand extension t2: when in position of use.v Each arm rest. iii is connected toanuprighttube M5 by a rivet H or the like, the upright t6 projecting upwardly above the; respective armrests H and terminating inv a rearwardly bent handle portion t8, to be grasped in. moving the chair from place to place. 'Ehe lower end ot therear upright i6 is secured as by Welding to a horizontal: tube NI, the frontend of which is securedas by welding to the; tube It at a point spaced above the forwardly bent extension l2.

Securedto-the iron-t end ortion of each. of the horizontal tubes I9 is a caster 20, and. a large rubber tired.- wire spoked wheel 21' is suitably mounted on. an axle fixedto the rear upright H5 at a point spaced above the lower horizontal tube I9 I Extending from the rear upright l6: of. the frame A to the frame B is a textile fabric piece 2-2 forming the back for the chai-r, The! seat for the chair also consists of a textile fabric piece 23,. the side edges of which are formed into pockets to receive rails 24 respectively which extend substantially from the front tubular upright In to the reartubular upright l6,

Fixed to the opposite ends of each-- of. therails M is a vertically disposed collar 25. to which is fixed a depending rod 26. Thus the seat has four depending rod 26,- one at each corner and each rodis s-lidable in a vertically disposed sleeve or guide 27, the lower end of which may be closed and the length of which may be approximately equal to that of the rod. Each sleeve or guide 2T is secured to an adjacent upright and spaced inwardly therefrom by upper and lower rigid bracket members 28 which may be welded respectimely to the Sleeve and to the adjacent upright. Thus" it will be observed that the sleeves at the front end, of the chair" are fixedl'y' secured to. the vertical tubular ortions lo and the rear sleeves are similarly rigidly secured totl'ie rear tubular uprights It of the frames A and B.

When. the seat 2'3is in position of use, the fabric seat' is opened. up or extends more or less tautly from one side to the. other and the rods 26 are slid downwardly their guiding: sleeves 21 to such point that the collar 25" rests upon the upper end. of tlf sleeve.

For bracing the front and rear ortions of the chair, fiat metallic straps 29 and 30 are pivoted together intermediate their ends at 3|, the upper end of the strap 29 being pivoted to the rod 24 associated with the frame B adjacent the collar 25 at the front end of the rail 24, the lower end of the strap 29 being pivoted to a bracket 32 inclining upwardly from the forward end portion of the lower tube 29 of the frame A. Similarly, the lower end of the strap 30 i pivoted to a bracket 32' and the upper end is pivoted to the rail 24 of the frame A adjacent the collar 25 at the front end thereof. A similar cross brace is provided at the rear of the chair, the lower ends being pivotally mounted to brackets at the rear ends of the respective tubes l9 and the upper ends being similarly connected to the rear ends of the seat rails 24.

To militate against weaving of the chair when in the unfolded position of use, a cross brace structure is provided which consists of straps 33 and 34. The straps 33 and 34 are pivoted together by means of a rivet at the central portion thereof and the front end of the strap 33 is pivoted to the upper end portion of the strap 29 at 35 adjacent the upper end thereof. The strap 33 inclines diagonally from the strap 29 to the lower end portion of one of the rear cross braces, where it is pivotally secured by a rivet 36. Similarly the strap 34 is pivoted at its front end to the upper end of the strap 30 and inclines diagonally downwardly and rearwardly to the other of the rear cross braces to which is it pivoted at 37, a distance from the lower end of that brace.

Assuming that the chair is in the position of use shown in Figure 1, when it is desired to collapse the chair for storage or transportation purposes, the foot rest I3 is swung upwardly so as to be substantially in alignment with the frame upright of the frame B and thereupon, by lifting on the seat 23 or by pushing the two frame parts A and B toward each other, the front and rear cross braces are swung toward each other, thus causing the rods 26 to slide upwardly in their guides 21. At the same time, the brace members 33 and 34 swing toward each other or into a collapsed position.

From the above description, it will be manifest that in the collapsed position of the chair, the seat rails 24 may be disposed a substantial distance above the arm rests II. In this structure, the arm rests in no way are controlling so far as the collapsing of the chair is concerned, and an important advantage of this structure is that it enables a much wider seat 23 to be used. One objection to chairs of this type which have been used is that not only is the seat too narrow for comfort, but also the arm rests are higher than they should be for the ideal situation. Accordin to this structure, not only can the arm rests be positioned at the desired position for maximum comfort, but also a wider seat may be provided. Other advantages of the construction reside in the simplicity of design by which the wheel chair can be produced economically, on a production basis.

It is to be understood that numerous changes in details of construction, arrangement and operation may be effected without departing from the spirit of the invention especially as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An invalid chair comprising a Pair of laterally spaced side frames, each side frame having front and rear uprights, a seat rail associated with each side frame, vertically disposed rod members, sleeve members for slidin'gly receiving said rod members respectively, means for mounting one of said members on the frames and the other of said members on said seat rails, and pivoted brace means connecting said side frames whereupon said side frames may be collapsed toward each other and the sleeve and rod members slide relatively to each other.

2. An invalid chair comprising a pair of laterally spaced side frames, each side frame having front and rear uprights, a sleeve member fixed to each upright, a seat rail associated with each side frame having rods depending from opposite ends thereof for sliding engagement with the adjacent sleeve member, a flexible seat joining said seat rails, and foldable brace members connecting said side frames and seat rails.

3. An invalid chair comprising a pair of laterally spaced side frames, each side frame having a front upright terminating at its upper end in a rearwardly extending arm rest, a, rear upright to which the rear end of the arm rest is secured, and a horizontal brace joining the lower portions of the front and rear uprights, a pair of guide elements secured to the uprights of each side frame, a seat rail having depending rods slidable in said guide elements respectively, a flexible seat joining said seat rails, and pivotally connected cross braces at the front and rear portions of the chair having their lower ends pivotally connected to the adjacent side frame and the upper ends pivotally connected to the respective seat rail.

4. An invalid chair as claimed in claim 3, in which the brace means connecting the front and rear cross braces comprises a pivotally connected cross brace, the ends of which re pivotally connected to the front and rear cross braces.

5. An invalid chair comprising a pair of laterally spaced side frames, each side frame including a front upright terminating in a, rearwardly extending arm rest and a rear upright to which the arm rest is secured, a seat rail associated with each side frame and extending from the front to back thereof, rigid means connected to the end portion of each side rail and depending therefrom, a pair of guides fixed to the uprights of each side frame for receiving said rigid elements respectively and guiding the movement thereof, and foldable brace elements connecting said side frames including parts connected to said seat rails.

6. An invalid chair comprising a pair of laterally spaced side frames, each side frame including a front upright terminating in a rearwardly extending arm rest and a rear upright to which the arm rest is secured, a seat rail associated with each side frame and extending from the front to back thereof, rigid means connected to the end portion of each side rail and depending therefrom, a pair of guides fixed to the uprights of each side frame for receiving said rigid elements respectively and guiding the movement thereof, front and rear pivotally connected cross braces, means for connecting the lower ends of said'braces to the lower portion of the respective side frame, and means for pivotally connecting the upper ends of said braces to said seat rails respectively.

7. In invalid wheel chair as claimed in claim 6, comprising pivotally connected brace members connected at their front ends to the upper end portions of the front cross brac members and,

pivotally connected at their rear ends to lower end portions of the rear cross brace members.

8. An invalid chair comprising a pair of laterally spaced vertically disposed side frames, vertically disposed guide elements on the inner side of said side frames respectively, a seat rail associated with each side frame, a flexible seat connecting said seat rails, rods depending from said seat rails respectively for sliding engagement with adjacent guide elements, and brace means connecting the side frames.

9. An invalid chair comprisin a pair of laterally spaced vertically disposed side frames, each side frame including a horizontally extending arm rest, vertically disposed guide elements on the inner side of said side frames respectively, a seat rail associated with each side frame, a flexible seat connecting said seat rails, rods depending from said seat rails respectively for sliding engagement with adjacent guide elements, the distance between the side rails being less than the distance between th arm rests thereby to enable vertical movement of the rods and side rails freely between the arm rests when the chair said seat rails, members depending from said,

seat rails respectively for cooperative sliding engagement with adjacent guide elements, said last members being freely slidable beyond said arm rests when the chair is collapsed or folded, and brace means connecting said side frames.

JOHN GORDON RIDEOUT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,354,949 Ducavich Aug. 1, 1944 2,379,566

Duke July 3, 1945 Disclaimer 2,485,016,J0hn Gordon Hideout, Chagrin Falls, Ohio. INVALID WHEEL CHAIR. Patent dated Oct. 18, 1949. Disclaimer filed Oct. 30, 1950, by the assignee, Gendron Wheel Company.

Hereby enters this disclaimer to that part of the claims in said specification which is in the following Words, to wit:

An invalid chair comprising a pair of laterally spaced side frames, each side frame having front and rear uprights, a seat rail associated With each side frame, vertically disposed rod members, sleeve members for slidingly receiving said rod members respectively, means for mount ng one of said members on the frames and sleeve and rod members slide relatively to each other.

[Ofliee'al Gazette November 21, 1950.] 

